Shadow Returns
by sureshot9593
Summary: this is a story that was started by Kayla-Stone on DA. I was asked to finish it when the respective author moved on to other works. It will only be at chapter 16 that my work comes into play, but I still ask that you enjoy. One final thing: this story is heavy with OCs, but please no flames. All in all, enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Shadowed Past

"Storm, come on! Hurry up!" Kyra called over her shoulder as she and her best friend, Storm the Hedgehog, ran up toward an abandoned military base. She and Storm had heard of an ancient project that had been abandoned a long time ago. Kyra wanted to figure out what that project was, and why it was locked away.

Storm on the other hand, disagreed with his human friend. Being blind, he wasn't as adventurous as she was, but he went with her anyways to make sure she didn't get hurt. She was his only friend. "You wait up!" He called back teasingly. "I am blind you know!"

He saw her stop. Yes, he saw her. He had power over electricity and use electrical currents to see some things that could be conductors, like metal and other beings, in auras of electrical light. Kyra stopped and looked at him, she often forgot he was blind because he could get around so well. Smiling she went back and took Storms hand and looked into his electric blue eyes. Though the pupils were a light color, they looked at her, almost right into her soul. He was the only one who understood her better than anyone else.

"Tell me," He said as she started guiding him toward the base. "Why are we here again?"

"I already told you, Storm." Kyra said with chuckle as the two entered the dark base. "There's a project in here I want to find. It had been abandoned several years ago, I want to know what it is and why it was abandoned with the base."

"I still don't like it," Storm said.

"Speaking of 'don't like it'…." Kyra said stopping. "Its really dark in here… I can't see anything…."

Storm could feel the tremble in her hand. He chuckled. "You're still afraid of the dark?" He asked, letting go of her hand and raising his palm to eye level and forming an electric orb just above it.

Kyra frowned at him. "It just makes me nervous, that's all." She said, forcing herself to sound braver.

Storm laughed, making the area around him echo. "Your secret is still safe with me, Kyra," He told her.

"How about I lead for a while."

Kyra nodded. "Sounds good to me,"

Storm took the lead for about a half an hour, exploring every inch of the base. Storm was thinking about how the two met. He was living with his teacher, Eli the Hedgehog, when Eli sent him out on a mission to an abandoned house. As Storm looked around, he saw Kyra for the first time. She was chained to a wall with only a bottle of water. It took Storm and Eli a long time to gain her trust and get her strength back. But she still didn't tell him where she came from or who her family was.

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud crash behind him quickly followed by a curse. He turned around to see Kyra's aura was a red color. He chuckled. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She said rubbing her foot. "Didn't see that chair."

"How about you walk closer to... Wow!" He said, exclaiming as his sight caught the strong aura of electrical currents through the entire quadrant of the building. "There's electricity still running in here, and its being routed to a certain point of the building."

"That may be where our project is," Kyra said with a smile. "Lead the way, Flashlight,"

"Ha, ha," Storm laughed sarcastically. "Just stay close to me…. Scardycat!"

Kyra smiled and shook her head as she followed her friend.

A few moments later, they stood in a very large room. Kyra could hear the electricity humming around her. But that's not what made her and Storm gasp. In front of them was a chamber that held a black hedgehog with red markings on his quills. He appeared to be sleeping, but it was somehow an unnatural sleep.

Kyra, curiosity getting the better of her, left Storms side and walked up to the hedgehog.

"Kyra?" Storm cautioned.

"I'm just getting a closer look," She reassured him.

She walked up until she was nearly a foot away from his face. She carefully lifted a finger and traced his face with it. He flinched under her touch, making her hand fly back, but he didn't wake. Kyra looked at Storm, who was still not liking this. She smiled at him before turning back and rubbing the back of her fingers on his cheek. The hedgehog sighed. "Mmm… Maria…" He mumbled, so low that she could barely hear him.

"Storm, I think…. I think this is our mystery project," Kyra said.

Suddenly, there was a loud buzz.

"Storm, what's up?" Kyra said.

Storm looked around, the electricity was overloading. The electricity brightened and made things hard to see. The electricity was building at a very dangerous speed.

"Storm!" Kyra shouted, as the hum became a roar.

"The system is overloading!" Storm shouted as he was blinded by the bright aura. "I can't see a thing! Kyra, get away-"

Suddenly, the chamber shifted, letting her plummet. The last thing she saw was dark shape reaching out to her to stop her fall and strong hands grasping her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Shadow

Storm couldn't see anything. But he could sense another active being in the room. He shielded his eyes against the light as a pair of arms picked him up and started carrying him at an incredible Pace.

"Kyra!" Storm shouted, not sure who picked him up, but he hated not being able to see anything.

Suddenly there was an even brighter aura that made Storms body tingle all over and made his eyes close from the brightness. When the sensation was gone, Storm opened his eyes to find he was outside the base, which was caving in now judging by the trembling in the ground.

Storm looked around as he saw someone with a bright golden aura who was no taller than Eli. He was crouched next to a familiar light blue aura, which glowed faintly.

"KYRA!" Storm shouted as he ran over to her. She was breathing, and her aura pulsed with her heartbeat. The pulse was weak, showing that she was hurt and unconscious. This really worried Storm and he started to look over her franticly. A strong hand touched Storms arm. He looked over at the golden aura.

"Its alright, kid," Said a deep, stern voice. "She'll live,"

"Who are you?" Storm asked.

"You don't know?"

"If I did then why would I ask?"

The figure considered this. "My name is Shadow," He answered after a moment. "Shadow the Hedgehog. But enough questions, we need to get her to a shelter. Do you know a place?"

Storm nodded. "Eli's house," He answered. "We live with him, and he's good at healing."

Shadow nodded and picked her up; Storm was surprised at how strong he was. Shadow was silent for the whole Pace. This made Storm a bit nervous, but all he could do was lead the stranger to Eli's. Soon, Kyra came around. The first thing she noticed was the strong arms that held her and her face was against soft white fur. She looked up at the strong yet stern face of a black hedgehog. She closed her eyes again; feeling like her mind was in a blender.

"Storm?" She said, almost at a whisper.

Storm immediately stopped and walked back to her side, careful not to stumble. "Kyra! Thank God you're alright."

"I'm fine Storm," Kyra said with a reasuring smile. "I'm just sore and a bit dizzy… I must have hit my head or something."

"I have a feeling you have a concussion," Shadow said darkly. "You did fall quite a ways. You might have been worse off if I didn't catch you in time."

Kyra looked back up at the black hedgehog, and realized he was the hedgehog from the base. She gasped as her brown eyes met his crimson eyes. Storm recognized that gasp almost immediately. "Do you know this guy, Kyra?"

Kyra suddenly remembered that Storm, though he could see auras of color around a person, couldn't see what that person looks like unless someone described that person to him.

"Storm, remember that project I was talking about?" Kyra asked.

Storm chuckled. "Of course, that's why you're like this."

"And you remember that capsule with the person inside back at the base, right?"

Now Storm was getting concerned. "Yeah, you fell off that thing."

"Well, this is the person who was inside," She said.

Storm blinked, then looked at Shadow.

"What she says is true," Shadow said. "I'm grateful to both of you for waking me. I have several questions for you both, but for now, where is this Eli?"

"O…over here." Storm said, still shocked about Shadow being the project.

A few moments later, the three of them walked up to a house. It looked similar to Sonics', but different in a way. Storm pushed the door open and let Shadow inside. It was cozy, with only a few pieces of furniture, a small kitchen and an upstairs.

"Eli! We're back!" Storm shouted.

"I'm in the workshop!" Came a somewhat elderly voice. "I'll be there in a moment, Storm."

"Eli, Kyra's hurt, we need a first aid kit!" Storm shouted back.

Kyra rolled her eyes and slipped out of Shadow's grip. "Storm, I told you, I'm alright…. Oh," She muttered as she was hit by a wave of dizziness and nearly fell to her knees unless Storm was right there to catch her. Shadow was surprised at how much these two reminded him of himself and Maria. Shadow was always there to catch Maria if she fell, was sick, or simply needed a friend.

Soon, another hedgehog came out of what looked like a garage. He was yellow with red shoes, white gloves and a black patch over his right eye. He was maybe as tall as Shadow, but looked older and more fatherly. As soon as he saw Kyra sagging in Storms arms, the yellow hedgehog quickly helped Storm get her to a bedroom and lay her down in a bed.

Shadow started to follow, but something stopped him. What was going on? He looked out the window at the world as he only just now realized how different it looked from what he remembered; there was an entire city that looked bleak and dead. It was black with dark clouds above it. Other than that city, there were green trees, grass, even a flower or two. Shadow realized that he met Storm and Kyra on the outskirts of that city. 'What happened here?'

He heard a floorboard creek, making Shadow turn to see Eli. His kind face was curved into a gentle smile. "I want to thank you, for protecting Storm and Kyra today."

Shadow nodded. "You're welcome." He said quietly. He looked out the window again, deep in thought. "How is she anyway?"

"She'll be alright." Eli answered stepping forward. "You look tired, Mr. Shadow, would you like to sleep on the couch tonight? I'm afraid we don't have anywhere else to put you."

"You can call me Shadow," Shadow replied. "But I do think some rest will help."

"I'll prepare the couch then," Eli said. "You can see Storm and Kyra if you want."

Before Shadow left the room, he turned to look at Eli. "If Storm is blind, then how was he able to find his way beck here?"

"He see's electrical currents," Eli explained as he pulled out some blankets from a cabinet. "He see's them as aura's of light, anything that can be used as a conductor he can see. He see's people the same way, but each person has a different aura color."

Shadow nodded, understanding now, and entered the room that Storm and Eli had taken Kyra. Kyra was sleeping in a comfortable, human sized bed. Her head was bandaged and she was smiling gently in her sleep. Storm was sitting on the bed next to her, his blind eyes drooping with sleep. He looked at his friend worriedly.

Shadow walked in, being as silent as possible, but Storm almost immediately turned to look at who had entered. He relaxed when he realized it was his guest. "Hey, Shadow." He greeted quietly before looking back at Kyra.

Slightly surprised at Storm's sensitivity "Eli said she'll be fine," Shadow said, walking over and placing a hand on the boys shoulder. "You should get some rest."

Storm hesitated; he didn't want to leave his friend, not when she might need him. But he knew Shadow was right. He needed to be well rested if Kyra needed him. Storm nodded and got down from the bed.

"Could you grab my staff, please?" Storm asked.

"Can't you use you're electric abilities to see?" Shadow asked getting the white staff.

"I can if I'm surrounded by electrical things that can be used as conductors," Storm explained taking his staff and tapping it in front of him. "But since this house is mainly made of wood, I need either my staff or Kyra to lead me around."

Shadow watched as Storm tapped his way to the stairs and slowly made his way to an upstairs room. He looked back at Kyra sleeping in the bed.

'I may not know what happened, or how these two found me, but I'll find out sooner or later.' With this in mind, Shadow walked back to the couch, which had been made for the use of a bed.

Eli bade Shadow good night and also walked upstairs. Before he disappeared into another room, Eli turned to Shadow.

"I won't be here tomorrow until the afternoon." He explained. "Could you watch over Storm and Kyra for me?"

Shadow nodded. "I will, Eli."

"Thank you Shadow," Eli said with a smile. "Sleep well."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Pancakes and a Call

The next morning, Shadow woke from a very comfortable sleep to a smell he thought he would never smell again. The smell of cooking pancakes. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Shadow sat up and realized there were cheerful yet hushed voices coming from the kitchen. He got up and peeked into the kitchen at Kyra and Storm.

The two of them had found the recipe about two months ago, but neither had the courage to try it while Eli was there, whom they wanted to surprise. But they never got the chance. Now they had a guest to test it with. Storm, whom Kyra didn't trust with the gas stove because of his electrical abilities, sat on a stool and watched her as she bent over the first pancake. Both had flour on their faces from making the batter, but they didn't seem to mind.

Storm smelled the air for a moment then grinned. "Smells like its doing good," He said, knowing Kyra had talent for burning things, even something as simple as toast.

Kyra turned to him and stuck her tongue out at him, making Storm chuckle. "You just wait," She told him. "These are going to taste great."

Storm sniffed the air again. "I don't know," He said. "You have a talent for burning things to a crisp, Kyra. Now I'm not an expert at these things, but I think it needs something more…"

Kyra looked at the mix and the single cooking pancake. "My cense of smell isn't as good as yours, Storm, what do you think it needs?"

Shadow cleared his throat, making the two turn and look at him.

"Morning Shadow!" Storm called with a wave. "Sleep well?"

Shadow nodded. They smiled in greeting as he entered the kitchen; it surprised Shadow that they weren't afraid of his approach.

Then Kyra's face fell. "Did we wake you?" She asked. "We were trying to keep quiet until breakfast was ready."

"I was up anyway," Shadow replied as he looked at the pancake mix and sniffed. "I used to have a friend who taught me how to make pancakes, there's a secret ingredient that you need."

The two looked at each other then at Shadow. "Where do you keep the vanilla?" He asked.

"Right here," Kyra said, grabbing the bottle of vanilla extract and handing it to Shadow. Shadow unscrewed the bottle cap and allowed five drops to fall into the batter. As he mixed the vanilla in, Storm sniffed again. "Mmm…. It smells better, you should take notes from this guy Kyra."

Shadow looked over in time to see Kyra scowl at Storm. Suppressing a chuckle, Shadow showed Kyra how to cook the pancakes so they wouldn't burn. Within a half an hour, the three of them were sitting down to breakfast. Kyra and Storm were the first to take a bite and were blown away by the taste. Shadow only chuckled to himself, remembering the first time he tried pancakes.

Suddenly, one of Kyra's pockets buzzed. Shadow thought at first it was a cell phone, but was surprised when she pulled out a small computer. "What's up, STEPHEN?" She asked.

"We're getting a message from the Redemption Rebels." The computer replied in a metallic males voice. "Its from, Skye the Fox."

"Patch it through," Kyra said, giving Storm a concerned look. Shadow, though wanting to ask, kept quiet.

"Kyra? Storm? You there?" Came a rather young voice, maybe around sixteen.

"Yea, we're here." Storm said. "What's the message?"

"We need you guys in HQ, pronto!" Skye said.

"What's wrong?" Kyra asked.

"Sorry, here only." Skye said. "It's bad enough I'm transmitting this."

"You think I can't see any bugs in this place, Skye?" Storm asked.

"I don't doubt that one bit, Storm," Sky replied. "But these days are dangerous, I'm just being careful."

Storm and Kyra were quiet for a moment, looking at each other, then looked at Shadow. Soon, Kyra sighed and made a reply. "We'll be down ASAP, Skye."

"See you then." Sky replied before ending the connection.

"I don't like the way he was sounding," Storm said. "Whatever's going on, it's not good."

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked not liking the look on Kyra's face.

Kyra got up and grabbed a jacket. "We'll explain later, but we need to get to Redemption Rebels HQ, right now."

Moments later, Storm, Kyra and Shadow walked calmly through the forest. The place was beautiful, but Shadow was getting impatient. "Where is this HQ?"

"Ssh!" Storm said. "It's just ahead."

Soon they entered a cave. As soon as they were inside, Kyra took a step back and gripped Storms hand. Storm rolled his eyes and stepped in front of Kyra, lifted his palm and allowed an orb of energy to form. Tapping his staff ahead of him, Storm led them deeper into the cave.

Soon they stopped at a door, which Kyra took STEPHEN out again and plugged him into an outlet. An "APPROVED" sign came up and opened the door, revealing a hidden village. Shadow stared in awe at the tree houses, farms and mills. There was meadow after meadow of flowers and gardens, there were children playing together under the watchful eye of their parents. The sight simply warmed Shadows heart.

Suddenly they were jumped on by a group of five fighters, each with a weapon. Shadow stepped into a fighting position in front of Storm and Kyra, but to his surprise Kyra stood in front of Shadow to protect him.

"Hold It!" Kyra shouted. "This is Shadow the Hedgehog, he's a friend and he's with us!"

"Chill out guys," Said a blue hedgehog with light blue highlights and teal eyes. "If he's with Kyra and Storm, then he's cool. Just as long as he doesn't cause trouble."

"Oh and you don't Pace?" Storm asked teasingly.

Everyone relaxed and laughed, including Pace (even though the joke was an insult).

"Shadow, let me introduce you to the Redemption Rebels A-Team," Kyra said. "This is Pace the Hedgehog, fastest thing alive."

The blue hedgehog held out a hand and gave Shadow a playful grin.

"You remind me of another Hedgehog who claimed to be the fastest." Shadow said, shaking Paces hand. "His name was Sonic."

"I know him," Pace said. "He's my ancestor."

Shadow was taken aback, shocked at the fact that Sonic would slow down long enough to have descendants.

"This is Platinum the Echidna and current guardian of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds." Kyra continued, gesturing to a light red echidna female with a single braid in her dreads and sapphire eyes. She wore tribal clothes, but she walked in the same manner as Shadow's old friend, Rouge. The tips of her braids were tan and she had a crescent moon birthmark under her neck. Platinum bowed at the waist at Shadow. "A pleasure and an honor, Shadow." She said, voice smooth and wise.

"This is Skye the Fox, our engineer and intelligence." A young yellow fox with two tails came forward. He looked very much like Tails, but his eyes were green and so were his shoes and the tips of his ears were a darker brown. "Pleasure Shadow."

"Here is Topaz the Bat, our expert treasure hunter." Kyra said as a beautiful bat with dark grey fur and light blue eyes walked forward. She wore a tight black top that showed off her stomach and comfortable black pants with bell-bottoms and black boots and gloves. "Hey," She said as she winked at Shadow flirtatiously.

"Let me guess," Shadow said. "You're a relative of Rouge?"

Topaz's eye lit up at the name. "I am," She said. "But I sadly can't find many files on her. To bad, I really want to know about her."

'I could tell you some stories.' Shadow thought.

"And this is Blossom, She's our medical agent." A purple hedgehog walked over and smiled sweetly at Shadow. She wore an olive green shirt and Levi jeans, and looked rather like a tomboy. "Howdy, Shadow."

"Well, now that we have every one introduced," Pace said. "Lets get to business. Nega is up to something…. Something big and mondo-bad."

Pace, Skye, Platinum, Topaz and Blossom led Shadow, Storm and Kyra to the Center of the Village where a large building was.

Skye and Pace walked over to a computer and brought up blue prints of a very strange looking machine. It looked like a chamber of some kind, but it gave Kyra a bad feeling.

"What is that?" Kyra asked, leaning closer to the computer screen.

"It's labeled Roboticiser," Skye explained. "And if he finishes it, our chances of overthrowing Nega will be next to none."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Disaster

"What's the Roboticiser?" Kyra asked, but something in her voice told both Storm and Shadow that she knew what it was.

Skye pulled up another file. This file made Kyra step back. Shadow took a closer look and found it was a picture of Dr. Robotnik, otherwise known as Eggman.

"The plans were originally designed my this man, Dr. Ivo Robotnik. But known to our ancestors as Eggman. According to My five-times-great-grandfathers stories, Eggman and your ancestor used to butt heads all the time, Pace. My dad told me that Grandpa Tails always said Sonic used to drive the man in sane, just like you do with Nega."

"Must run in the family," Pace said with a pleased expression.

"What dose it do exactly?" Topaz asked.

"That's the worst part," Skye answered. "This machine transforms people with a high metallic radiation of about four hundred percent that would-"

"Skye," Storm said, interrupting the fox. "Do you mind speaking English?"

"Sorry," Skye said. "Long story short, you walk in as flesh and blood but you walk out as a robot."

"Oh my emeralds!" Platinum gasped and held her hands to her mouth in shock.

Every one was quiet for a moment; shocked that even Nega would build such a monstrosity.

"How did you get this Intel?" Kyra asked, trying to break the silence.

"Blade," Blossom answered. "He's in the infirmary recovering from his mission yesterday."

"He was hurt?" Kyra asked, almost shocked. Blade was usually very careful, and almost always came back from a mission unscathed.

Blossom nodded. "He'll be alright in a couple of days, but he was beat up pretty good when he got back."

"Can we see him?" Storm asked.

"Of course." Blossom answered.

Blossom led everyone to another building. It was much smaller than the central building, and there was a white sign in front of it with a bright red cross on it. Blossom led them inside and to the bedside of a pure black hedgehog. Shadow looked at the hedgehog; he almost looked like Shadow, but there were no red markings, he had a scar over his left eye, and he had an armband on his right arm. Beside the bed were two katana blades in dark red scabbards. The hedgehog was asleep. His chest had been bandaged as well as his head and left arm.

"Blade," Blossom said gently, grasping his right arm and squeezing it. "Blade, wake up."

Blade opened his purple eyes and looked at his guests. He smiled slightly when he saw Storm and Kyra.

"There's a rare sight," Kyra said smiling back. "Looks like you've seen some action."

"I did," Blade answered, his voice almost as foreboding as Shadows. "Was Skye able to open that file I got from Nega's computer?"

Storm nodded. "There's not much that kids can't do when it comes to hacking."

"True," Blade replied. He suddenly noticed Shadow. Storm saw his aura turn a darker shade of yellow. "Who's this?" Blade asked suspiciously.

"This is our guest, Shadow," Kyra said. "He save Storm and me yesterday from a Military base. He's staying with us for a while."

Shadow knew the look Blade gave him. He recognized Shadow somehow, and Blade didn't like him.

"Shadow, meet Blade the Hedgehog, one of our top fighters." Kyra continued. "We don't know much of his past, neither dose her for that matter, but he helps us get the job done."

"Nice to meet you, Shadow," Said Blade holding up a hand to shake. Shadow reluctantly shook it.

Storm chuckled. "Don't worry, Blade," He said. "Shadow's aura is gold like yours. He's a good guy."

"Gold, huh?" Blade said. "Honorable, brave, devoted and loyal. That's where you put Goldie's right?"

"That's right," Storm answered.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"They mean," Kyra explained. "That Storm sees' people as elements of color. These colors represent that's persons' personality. Everyone has a different color; for example, he says my color is a light blue, showing that I'm… What was I again Storm?"

"Kind, brave, trustworthy and pure of heart." Storm answered. "But you also have another color in there that I don't get; you have a darker blue mixed with purple where your heart is… That tells me that you've been hurt in your past and not in the way I think."

Kyra look shocked at first, staring at Storm in amazement. Storm chuckled. "Now you're a light pink where your face is."

Storm saw her pink face turn pinker before she turned her away. Blade cracked a smile, everyone else laughed slightly. Shadow didn't understand. Weren't they worried about what she's hiding?

Suddenly, Storm looked tense and he looked over his shoulder.

Kyra looked at him suddenly worried. "Storm?" She asked walking to his side. "Storm, what's wrong?"

"Something just blew up," Storm answered. "Didn't you feel the ground shake? Or hear the explosion?"

"Storm, your censes are stronger than ours," Pace said. "What direction did it come from?"

Storm closed his eyes and gently smelled the air. Everyone stayed quiet, knowing Storm was testing the air for something out of the ordinary. He suddenly looked up at Kyra, worry written on his face. "East, about a mile away from here."

Kyra's face drained of all color. That was around where she and Storm lived with Eli.

"Oh my God," She whispered, taking Storms hand and ran out of the infirmary, with Shadow, Pace, Skye, Platinum, and Topaz right behind them. Blossom and Blade had to stay behind since Blade still needed some TLC and Blossom was their only physician.

Pace stayed right on their tails, with Skye flying behind him with his twin Tails with Topaz flying next to him. Platinum was beneath them pulling out her pistol. Shadow was right behind Pace, not knowing or liking what was going on.

They ran through the cave and the forest that Shadow had walked through with Kyra and Storm. Soon they found the source of the explosion. Shadow, Storm and Kyra stared at the house that Storm and Kyra once called home being torn to pieces by flames.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Mourning

Everyone stared in shock at the burning house. Storm and Kyra stared with their mouths open at the sight of their home engulfed in flames.

Storm looked at Kyra, worry etched into his handsome face. "What if Eli was in there?"

Before Kyra could answer, there was another explosion, blowing the house to pieces, one thing caught Kyra's eye; it was a black eye patch. Kyra picked it up and fell to her knees and her face in her hands holding the eye patch tightly. Storm knelt beside her and embraced her. She turned and her face in his soft grey fur, allowing herself to sob quietly.

Shadow knew no one could have survived that explosion, but he couldn't figure out who could have done this.

"I have a feeling that Nega is getting dispirit." Pace said walking up and inspecting the damage.

"But why would he target a simple home?" Platinum asked, walking over to comfort Kyra and Storm.

Storm pulled himself together.

"Because," He sniffed. "Eli had a robotic eye. He told me once that he had escaped from Nega a few years ago… He said something about a radiation experiment… he said he had to keep his eye hidden or Nega would find him… He took off his patch last night to look at Kyra's injuries."

"It's my fault then…" Kyra said with a sob. "I'm sorry Storm. I'm so sorry."

"No," Storm said, fighting his own sobs. "It wasn't your fault."

Skye knew there was nothing they could do now; Eli's body would be burned to a crisp from the two explosions so there wasn't a real point in digging him out to burry him. He looked at Pace, then to the rest of his team. Sometimes he hated being the technical leader of the group. "I hate to do this," Skye said. "But we need to get back to HQ. There's nothing we can do here. I know it sounds heartless, but there's really nothing we can do."

"Skye's right," Pace said. "We need to get to HQ and make plans to take out that Roboticiser. If we don't, Nega will destroy more lives than he already did today." He looked over at Shadow, Storm and Kyra. "You guys are welcome to stay in New Knothole. We always have rooms open for situations like this."

"Thanks, Pace." Storm said with a sniff.

"Lets head back," Platinum said, taking Storm's and Kyra's hands and led them away from the destroyed building.

The two walked ahead of Shadow and behind Platinum, comforting each other and weeping quietly. Shadow walked close to them, knowing how it felt to loose someone you loved. He watched the two of them quietly cry bitter tears as the group made their way back to New Knothole.

When they made it back, it was already getting dark. They explained what happened to Blossom and Blade. Blossom immediately offered for them to stay at her house.

"I have three spare rooms for patients that the infirmary can't hold or they need constant care, but they need it the most so you're welcome to them."

"Thanks Blossom," Kyra said, seeming to recover better than Storm, who stayed quiet.

Soon, evening came. Kyra, Storm and Shadow ate a quiet dinner with Blossom. Shadow quite enjoyed the food; it reminded him of Amy's cooking when he went to her house for dinner one time with Rouge, Knuckles, Tails and Sonic. Oddly enough, he missed listening to them talk. It was very odd knowing a moment before he went to sleep they were alive and well and waking up to meet their descendants.

Later that night, everyone was in bed. Kyra was reading, trying to keep her mind off of what happened that day. Eli had been the father she never had. She didn't know what would have happened to her if Storm hadn't come along, saved her from that abandoned house, and took her to Eli's. Storm had told her Eli was only a teacher who took care of Storm, but Kyra suspected that the two of them accepted each other as father and son.

Soon, someone knocked on her door, making her jump. She turned to see Storm in the doorway, giving her his famous crooked smile, something he learned from Pace.

"Hey," She said.

"Hi," He answered, his voice small and sad.

"Can't sleep?" Kyra asked.

Storm shook his head. "I can't get my mind to calm down long enough to sleep."

"Neither can I," Kyra confessed. "Frankly, I'm also a little nervous to go to sleep."

Storm gave a small chuckle. "Still afraid of the dark?"

"A little more afraid of it now,"

Storm, with his staff in hand, tapped his way to the bed and crawled onto it, resting on top of the blankets since he had fur and it was a warm night. Kyra, having no fur, stayed under the covers. Kyra turned out the light and watched in amazement as Storms body started to glow a soft blue color, small sparks of electricity jumped across his fur as he lay down next to Kyra. "Is this better, Scardycat?"

"Much better, Flashlight." Kyra answered, snuggling under the covers. She remembered the time Storm first did this; it was the first night she was staying with him and Eli. She didn't dare turn out her light and be consumed by the darkness. Storm could cense the electricity in her room and had gone to investigate. She told him her fear of the dark and he had an idea. He crawled into bed with her and turned out the light. She tensed at first, but then Storm started to glow softly.

"Now you're not in the dark and your not alone," He told her. "And you can get to sleep. I can keep glowing for an hour after I fall asleep."

"Thanks, Storm." Kyra had whispered to him, tears still in her eyes but sleep was getting the better of her. She didn't realize that she had spoken out loud as she was already mostly asleep.

Storm smiled sleepily her. "Sleep well, Kyra." He whispered back, drifting off beside his new friend.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A Plan of Action

Next morning, Storm awoke alone in the bed. This didn't bother him, he knew that Kyra like to watch the sunrise. He got up, got his staff and tapped his way to the kitchen. As he walked, he ran into Shadow. Shadow's aura was a normal golden color. Storm smiled, hardly anything seemed to faze Shadow. Storm wondered where he came from.

"Good morning," Storm greeted, still sounding down.

"Morning," Shadow replied. "Where's Kyra?"

"I'm not sure," Storm answered. "She's usually the first up to watch the sunrise. But I have a feeling she's in the kitchen with Blossom."

Shadow felt he wanted to ask his questions now, but he knew that Storm and Kyra were still in shock from the events from yesterday. He followed Storm to the kitchen where Kyra and Blossom were cooking omelets. At the table, Pace, Skye and Blade were chatting.

"Are you sure that's a good idea letting her cook, Blossom?" Storm asked as he walked in.

Kyra turned and gave him a mocking scowl. "Good morning to you too, sleepy head!" She said sounding happier, but Shadow could hear she was still upset about Eli. "Thanks to Shadow, I've gotten much better at not burning what I cook."

"Kyra! The muffins!" Blossom shouted, almost laughing.

Kyra turned, grabbed a pair of oven mitts and pulled out a try of darkened blueberry muffins. As she set them down to cool off, she heard Storm chuckle. "You were saying?" He asked smugly.

Everyone chuckled gently, even Blade who didn't smile much. Kyra smiled at Storm. "Pancakes and omelets on the stove is one thing, muffins in an oven are another." She answered.

Storm smiled, and then looked over at Blade. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "I thought you were in the infirmary healing up."

Blade shrugged. "I heal quick, what can I say?"

Shadow didn't miss the sideways glance he got from Blade. He knew very well by now that Blade knew him somehow, and didn't like him. Shadow returned his glance. Storm rolled his eyes at both of them but didn't say anything.

"Well," Blossom said. "Pace, better get everyone in here if you want to tell us your master plan of yours is for trashing that Roboticiser."

Blade choked on his juice at the sound of that name. "What?" He asked.

"That's right, you missed the briefing yesterday." Pace said getting up. "We'll fill you in when I get everyone. As my five-times-great-grandfather used to say, be back in a Sonic Second."

Pace, just like his ancestor, raced out of the house like a flash of blue lightning. Shadow shook his head. 'At least some things don't change.'

Moments later Pace returned with Platinum and Topaz in tow. They sat down and helped themselves to the omelets and the charred muffins. Storm, Kyra, Shadow and Blossom sat down and ate a bit. Blade was the only one who had food on his plate but wasn't eating.

"Pace," He said finally. "Lets get on with this, you know I hate it when I miss a detail."

"I know, Blade, I know." Pace said. "I'll let Skye take this one. Skye?"

Skye grinned at Pace and leaned forward. "Nega is building a device called a Roboticiser that brought Mobius to its knees in the time of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Freedom Fighters. I'm unsure how they shut it down and reversed its affects, but now Nega has his dirty hands on the plans. The Roboticiser is programmed to turn people into mindless robots made to work for Nega. If we don't shut it down and destroy the plans for it, there is a good chance that Mobius will again fall and Negatropolis will be a reality."

Blade looked like he was sucker-punched in the gut. "Ok," He said. "Now that I'm caught up, how do we shut it down?"

"Simple," Pace said, laying out a map of a large base. "Blade will guide us around the place since he knows it best. Skye will use the hacker codes Blade recovered the other day to let us in. I think the ones that would go with Blade should be Platinum, Shadow, and Kyra, since they're the quickest."

"Hold it!" Blade said standing. "Why is he coming? We've only known him for maybe three days!"

"And why am I not going?" Storm asked. "I can be useful thanks my abilities. I can spot a robot before he knows we're there."

"I don't doubt that, Storm." Pace answered. "But the whole place is metal, I'm afraid you might go blind in there. Blade, Shadow is going because, from what Storm and Kyra told me, he can get us out of there if things go bad, right Shadow?"

"I can, but I'd need every one holding onto each other to make it work." Shadow answered.

"I can't let Kyra go alone," Storm said.

"I'll be fine, Storm." Kyra told him. "I'll stay in contact with you and Blossom at all times."

"I still don't like it," Storm said. "I just lost Eli, I don't want to loose my best friend."

Kyra smiled. "You won't," She said gently. "You haven't yet."

"And I don't plan to today." Storm replied grimly.

"Back to the plans…" Pace said, regaining everyone's attention. "Kyra's right, Blossom and Storm will be our Home Base. We are to stay in close contact at all times. Team Black Out, the team that Blade will be leading, will take this charge and blow the Roboticiser back into the history books. Team Twister, Topaz and Skye, will hack into the mainframe and take out the Roboticiser plans. Every one cool?"

"What about you?" Platinum asked. "Where will you be?"

"I'll be the distraction." Pace answered proudly. "They don't call me Priority One Hedgehog for nothing."

"When do we start?" Blade asked.

"Tonight." Skye answered. "When things are calmer and less alert. Plus we haven't done a night mission in a while."

"Sounds like a plan," Topaz said in a flirtatious manner that reminded Shadow of Rouge. "I'll get my things and meet you all in twenty."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7: Attack

That evening, the Redemption Rebels split into their teams to carry out their plans. Storm and Blossom stayed in a knoll close by to Nega's Base. Storm was on look out for robots while Blossom worked the communications.

"This is the Nest asking for a sound off, come in." Blossom said into a wrist communicator as she watched a 3D map with red, gold and blue dots. The gold dots represented Tails team, the red dots represented Blades team and the blue dot was Pace.

Tails reported in first; "Team Twister here, Nest, we read you loud and clear,"

"What about you guys Black Out?" Blossom asked.

"We hear you, Nest." Blade replied in a serious monotone. Blossom knew he always took missions seriously. Unlike someone else she knew.

"What about you Streak, report in." Blossom said.

"Streak here, and getting board!" Pace relied. "Lets get this show on the road."

"Keep your shoes on, Streak," Blossom said. "We need you first out there anyway if your plan's going to work. Start distracting so Twister can do their job."

"Your wish," Pace answered. "Is my command. One piping distraction coming up!"

Blossom rolled her eyes and watched the map as robots, represented as white dots, started moving in Pace's direction. Blossom picked up her communicator. "Twister, move in! You guys are in the clear."

"Thanks Nest." Skye replied and motions to Topaz to follow.

Before Topaz left, Platinum grasped her friends' hand. "Try to keep a low profile,"

Topaz smirked. "Now, Patty," She said. "Where would the fun be in that?"

Platinum shook her head as Topaz and Skye took off toward the base. Skye almost immediately found a service dock and hooked STEPHEN up to it and started hacking, working at getting the door open first. Topaz kept watch for unwelcome company while Skye worked. Soon, the door was open.

Topaz radioed in. "Alright Black Out, curtain call guys."

"Copy that, Twister." Blade radioed back then signaled his team. "Lets go," He whispered as he, Kyra, Shadow and Platinum entered the door.

"So far so good guys," Blossom encouraged. "Phase one is complete, onto faze two and three. How are you holding up, Streak?"

"Come on!" She heard him, taunting one of the robots. "I'm not even breaking a sweat yet!"

Blossom heard a crash and was worried for a second. "Streak?" She called.

"All's good, Nest." Pace answered. "I'm hoping there's more robots here to take out. How are the others?"

"We're good," Skye radioed. "I'm starting phase two now."

"Way to go, pal." Pace said, taking out another robot with ease. "How's Black Out holding up?"

"We're alright," Kyra replied, knowing that Storm would like to hear her voice. "Streaks doing great with his job."

"Thank you, thank you," Pace replied.

Blossom rolled his eyes. Storm walked over from his look out spot and watched as Blade's team make their way to the Roboticiser. Spotting four white dots ahead of them, Storm quickly contacted Kyra. "Watch it guys, I got four bogies ahead of you."

Blade drew his twin katanas and stepped to the side of the wall. Kyra pulled a pistol and cocked it. Platinum took a stance beside Kyra and clenched her fists. Shadow stood behind Blade and, but didn't pull a weapon.

When the robots came around the corner, Team Black Out was ready. Blade was nothing but a blur, slashing his robot to ribbons. Kyra, using skill shadow had no idea she owned, leaped onto her robot, put the barrel of the pistol to its head and blasted it. Platinum simply pummeled her robot to rubble with her rock hard fists, using the same gloves that were used by her five-times-great-grandfather, Knuckles. Shadow grinned as his robot approached. Rolling his eyes, Shadow clenched a fist. "Chaos SPEAR!" He shouted, throwing a beam of energy at the robot, blowing it to bits.

"We have to move fast," Blade said, sheathing his swords. "More guards may have heard us. Hey Shadow, how about using that Chaos Control of yours and get us to our target faster?"

"It weakens me when I use Chaos Control." Shadow explained. "I'd rather use Chaos Control as a last resort to escape."

"How are we going to get to the Roboticiser then?" Blade asked, stepping forward and entering Shadows space.

"Blade," Kyra said, stepping between the two boys. "Stop it. We have to work together on this, could we at least get along for an hour?"

"Guys," Platinum said kneeling next to an air duct. "I have a feeling this is our ticket in."

Kyra walked over to look at the duct. "Good find, Platinum. Lets see if it goes that way. Nest, this is Team Black Out, we need maps of air ducts on level four leading to the target."

Blossom typed on a keyboard and brought up a map of the air ducts. "Looks like the one that's next to you winds its way to the Target. You'll have to go single file with someone in constant contact with us for directions. I suggest Blade."

"Sounds like our best bet." Kyra answered. "Good thing we're all short. Blade, take the lead, I'll follow you, then Shadow then Platinum."

"Lets go," Blade said, entering the duct.

Meanwhile, Skye was having a heck of a time hacking into the database for the Roboticiser plans.

"This…" Skye growled at Topaz. "Is driving me…. Crazy."

Topaz chuckled. "Life would be boring if things were easy."

"Hey, I got something you would like, Topaz." Skye said.

Topaz came over and looked at the file that Skye found. It was labeled ROUGE_THE_BAT. "Copy it, Skye!" Topaz said excitedly. "This is my ticket to knowing more about her."

"Already got it, Topaz." Skye said, handing Topaz a flash drive he had downloaded the file to. Topaz slipped it into her boot and continued her watch.

Meanwhile, Blade's team finally came out of the duct and into the Roboticiser room. Blade grinned. "Its about time we found it." He said as he got out the charges.

Back outside, Pace was having a grand time. He never had so much fun trashing Nega's robots, but this seemed a little too easy. He spin dashed through a robot and stood to catch his breath. Suddenly, he felt a pick on his shoulder. He looked over and pulled out a dart. "Shoot!" He said as the affect of the drug started to take affect, driving him to his knees.

"Now what?" A robot asked in its metallic voice.

"Leave him," Another answered. "The poison should take care of him sooner or later. The Doctor will need us inside."

They left Pace lying where he had fallen. Pace, forcing himself to fight off whatever that dart had, lifted his communicator. "Guys," He croaked weakly.

"Pace?" Blossom relied, forgetting his codename for the mission. "What's wrong, you sound horrible."

"Hedgehog… Down." Pace replied. "Cover's blown… abort mission…" With this message patched through, Pace blacked out.

"Pace?" Blossom asked, getting worried. "Pace? Come in Pace. Pace!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Painful Discoveries

"Hand me another charge, Kyra." Blade said, fitting a charge onto the Roboticiser.

Kyra dug in his bag and pulled out another charge. "Last one." She said as she tossed it to Blade. Blade caught it easily and fitted it to the monstrous machine and armed it.

"We're ready for some fireworks." Platinum said with a hint of excitement.

Outside at the knoll, Blossom came back with an unconscious Pace draped over her shoulder. At the first look at him, Storm could tell he wasn't well; his usual cheery yellow aura was now a deeper yellow with hints of green, and the aura glowed dully.

"Did you contact the others?" Blossom asked, getting her first aid kit out.

"I got Skye and Topaz, but I couldn't get Blade or the others." Storm answered, worry growing in his voice.

"Keep trying," Blossom replied. "We have to get them out of there ASAP. When Skye gets here he can help with the communications."

Storm again leaned over the communicators but saw something on the 3D map. About twenty-five to thirty robots were migrating to Blades position.

"Guys!" Storm shouted into the communicator. "Get out of there, now! Our cover's blown. GET OUT OF THERE!"

All that came back was static.

"Kyra, you got the detonator?" Blade asked.

"Yup," She answered and handed him the control. "This mission should send Nega back to the stone age."

"Now my dear, I highly doubt that."

Everyone turned to see none other than Nega himself standing in the doorway with tons of robots behind him. Kyra felt he heart tighten with fear, sadness and hatred as he walked forward, his cool voice dripping with poison.

Behind him, a robot walked forward with an unconscious Shadow in its grip. The robot tossed Shadow to Kyra's feet like he was no more than a rag doll. Kyra knelt and felt for a pulse, there was one, and his muscles were twitching, showing he was fighting to wake up.

"I was getting worried about you my dear." Nega continued.

Blade moved to draw his swords, but the robots pointed their guns at him, forcing him to lower his hands with menacing look on his face, like he was about to rip someones head off.

"And now it seems that you brought me the Redemption Raiders. What a good little girl you are, Kyra Robotnik."

Kyra flinched at the name and looked at her friends. Blade and Platinum looked at her in shock. Kyra's face started to heat as she looked back at Shadow and closed her eyes. "Just because you married my mother," She growled. "It doesn't mean that you're my father."

"What!" Blade shouted.

This made Nega chuckle evilly. "I see you never told your friends have you?"

"Kyra?" Platinum asked, moving forward. "Is this true?"

Kyra bit her lower lip. "He's my step father," She answered. "But I will never be his daughter."

"Well, no matter," Nega said with a wave of his hand. "You brought me my enemies. For this I thank you, Kyra."

As Nega exploded in a fit of laughter, Kyra looked at Blade in the eyes and started blinking. Blade immediately realized she was blinking in mores code. He watched and quickly decoded it: Wake… Shad… chaos… control… out… I…. distract…. Once…. out… Detonate… charges.

Blade felt himself tense. He knew Storm would be against the plan, but he had to blow the Roboticiser sky high or Mobius was doomed. He blinked twice at her, his silent way of nodding.

Kyra blinked some more; tell… Storm… I'm…. Sorry.

Blade blinked twice again, promising he would.

With a tear standing in her eyes, Kyra looked back at Shadow then suddenly looked down the hall and a smile spread across her face. "Pace, thank God!"

"What?" Nega asked as he and he robots turned to look down the hall, Kyra was so convincing that even Blade and Platinum looked. A second later, she took off down another hall pistol in hand. "Catch me if you can, Baldy!" She shouted as she ran.

Nega turned, forgetting about his other prisoners and ran after her with his army. "GET HER!" He bellowed. "DON'T LET HER OUT OF YOUR SIGHT! SHE IS NOT LEAVE AGAIN!"

Though still not liking the plan, Blade grabbed Platinum's arm and pulled to Shadow. "Shadow!" Blade yelled. "Wake up! Now's a great time for that Chaos Control! Wake up!"

"Mmm," Shadow mumbled as his eyes opened slowly.

"Platinum, the emerald." Blade said.

Platinum dug in one of her pockets and tossed an emerald to Blade, who pushed it into Shadow's hand. "Come on, Shadow! Chaos control us out of here! Platinum, hold onto me."

Platinum held Blade by the shoulder obediently. Shadow focused on the Emerald and squeezed it. "C-Chaos…" He said weakly. "Control!"

There was a flash, letting Kyra know she did her job in helping her friends get to safety. A tear escaped her eye as she slipped into another air duct to hide and slid down it to the basement.

Outside, Shadow, Blade and Platinum made it outside. Blade turned back to the base and held up the detonator and pressed the ignition button. Seconds later, the base exploded. As Blade and Platinum watched the base go up in smoke, Blade stumbled backward and roughly sat down.

'So that's why she had that dark spot on her.' Blade thought, thinking of what Storm said.

"They're over here guys!" Called a voice from above.

Platinum looked and saw Skye, using his twin tails as propellers to keep him air born. Soon two more members of the team showed. Storm and Topaz came over the knoll and ran to Blade, Platinum and Shadow, who was now coming around.

"I tried to call you guys," Storm said. "But your communicators weren't functioning. I was trying to tell you that our cover was blown and to abort, but it looks like you guys made it after all."

Storm stopped and looked around, not seeing the light blue aura he was really hoping to see. His smile faded as he now noticed that everyone's aura was a deeper color. "Wh-where's Kyra?" He asked.

Blade stood, walked to Storm and knelt so he was at eye level with Storm. "She was the bravest team member today, Storm." He said gently.

"Was?" Storm asked, his heart squeezing.

"We were caught, and Shadow was knocked out." Blade explained. "She told me in code that she would distract Nega and his robots while we made it out with Shadow's Chaos Control. She told me to detonate the charges once we were out."

Storm was breathing heavy now and tears were streaming down his cheeks and over his muzzle.

"She wanted me to tell you she was sorry." Blade finished. "As am I."

"No," Storm said, stepping back and shaking his head. "No, no. She can't be gone!"

He turned and ran away.

"Storm!" Blade called and was about to go after him, but Shadow stopped him.

"I'll talk to him," He said. "I've gone through this before."

Blade, unsure what else to do, let Shadow go.

He then turned to Topaz and Skye, who were both shell shocked at the news. "There's more, and you guys are not going to believe it."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Moving On

Storm ran, not caring where he was going or how he was getting there. He had lost his best friend, though she never told him how she wound up in that abandoned house, he knew she was meant to be his friend.

She was there to be his eyes when his powers where useless. She was there to talk with him when he was lonely, and she got him out of Eli's house whenever she thought he needed an adventure. But their relationship went both ways; when Storm found her, she hardly spoke a word. After months, and after sleeping in her room once, acting like a nightlight, she mainly spoke to him when Eli wasn't around. He helped her out of the shell of fear she hid in. He comforted her when she was frightened and he always showed her that no matter how bad the past was or how dark the night got, she could always count on a bright morning.

Storm soon stumbled on a stone and fell. He simply lay there weeping for Kyra, for Pace, for Eli. He felt like the world was falling around him, like there was nothing else to live for, but he didn't dare end his life now.

"Storm!"

Storm didn't look up to he whom it was; he already knew it was Shadow by the sound of his voice. Storm continued sobbing as the ebony hedgehog came up to him and knelt by his side.

Storm felt his strong yet gentle hand on his shoulder. Storm finally sat up and looked at Shadow's aura. It was golden as usual, but for the first time he noticed a small blue stain where his heart would be, like Kyra. This made him sob harder and he leaned into Shadow, burying his face in Shadow's white chest fur.

"She's gone…" Storm sobbed.

Shadow embraced Storm while the scare from Maria's death started to resurface. "I know, Storm." Shadow replied, surprisingly gentle. "But she not forgotten."

"She and I were the world to each other." Storm said through his tears. "She was my eyes, and I was her friend."

"I know," Shadow said, tears coming to his eyes.

"How?" Storm asked, almost fiercely. "How do you know?"

"I had a close friend once," Shadow explained. "Very much like Kyra. Her name was Maria. She had an illness that made her dizzy often. I was always by her side, to watch over her and to be her friend."

Storm looked up at Shadow, and saw that the blue stain was growing. Shadow choked back tears as he continued. "She was the only human child in Space Colony ARK, I was the only hedgehog. We filled a void in each other's lives. One day, GUN arrived at the ARK."

Storm remembered this story, Eli had told him about it. But that was nearly two hundred years ago, he was talking like it was merely a few years.

"GUN came to take me, thinking I was too dangerous to keep around. My first instinct was to protect her, so I led her to the escape pods. She told me to get in. As I did, I heard a door open. I turn and there's a GUN officer, pointing a gun at me. Suddenly, Maria got in the way and pushed the lock button, locking me in the escape pod and protecting me from a bullet. I heard a gun shot, and saw her face go blank for a moment."

Storm looked up at Shadow, who embraced Storm closer. "Her last wish, was for me to protect the people on the planet, to give them a chance to be happy. I watched her get up and stumble to the controls. I remember banging on the walls of the escape pod to get to her, to help her, but I couldn't. She released my pod saying 'Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.' I never saw her again."

Storm embraced Shadow as He felt the golden aura quiver with suppressed sobs. He now knew he wasn't alone with his grief, but it still pained him that this happened.

"My world fell apart that day," Shadow finished. "I was never the same. I mostly avoided relationships in fear I would loose them as I lost Maria. I know your pain, Storm… Maybe better than most."

The two sat there, comfort each other from their losses. Soon Shadow managed to regain control of himself and stood. "We should get back to New Knothole." He said to Storm. "The other's will be worried."

Storm nodded, still unable to speak. Storm leaned against Shadow and looked blankly forward, letting Shadow be his eyes. The two remained silent for the entire walk back to New Knothole, Storm still shedding silent tears for the loss of his best friend.

Kyra's head throbbed steadily from the explosion, and her ears where ringing. She shook herself awake best she could and looked around. She was still in the air duct, but the entrance was blocked.

"Lets hope the experiments you did on me are worth it." Kyra mumbled, remembering the painful experiments that Nega did on her to increase her agility and strength.

She leaned back and kicked the metal that blocked both her exit and her air. On the third kick, she finally used her entire body against it. The ruble gave away, allowing her to fall flat on the ground. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her legs, disabling her from standing. She cried out in pain, and looked down to see blood starting to pool beneath her.

Her head was spinning and everything was very confusing. Soon she heard someone walking amongst the ruble of the base. Her eyesight was clouding over and all she saw was a light grey figure walking toward her.

She reached out to the figure, hoping against hope. "Storm…" She croaked, her throat dry and scratchy.

The figure came up to her and looked at her for a second, then looked over his shoulder. "Seth! I got a survivor over here!"

The figure knelt and held Kyra in surprisingly strong hands. "Hang in there, kiddo." The figure whispered in a strong voice.

Before Kyra could say anything, she drifted into darkness, remembering only that she was safe.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10: Poisoned

When Storm and Shadow made it back to New Knothole, Everyone was in the infirmary. Storm walked in and saw that Pace had been put in a bed with Blossom and Skye busying themselves with him. Storm could see he wasn't well; his aura was now a yellowish green and was very dull.

"What's wrong with him?" Shadow asked.

"Some kind of poison," Skye answered, running a few numbers on STEPHEN. "A kind I've never seen before; it acts fast at first, then slows down, leaving the victim like this," He gestured to Pace in the bed.

Storm touched Pace on the forehead and immediately pulled his hand away from the heat on Paces body. Tears returned to his eyes as he remembered a time when he was sick; Kyra rarely left his side during that time. She had told him she knew how to heal with herbs and had used herbs to help him. He remembered that his illness lasted for a much shorter time than what Eli had thought.

"If Kyra was here," Storm started. "She'd come up with something herbal to at least bring down the fever."

"I don't think so," Topaz said, looking over at Storm from where she sat as Skye's laptop where she had been eating up the information Skye found on Rouge the Bat. "According to Blade and Patty, she wasn't who we thought she was."

"What do you mean?" Storm asked.

Topaz looked at Blade, who scowled at her. "Thanks for the spotlight," Blade grumbled before looking at Storm. "I'm sorry to add to your pain, Storm, but before she told me her plan Nega told us that he was related to her."

"What?" Asked Blossom and Skye in unison, both looking up from what they were doing.

"She explained that he was her step father." Platinum said. "And that she didn't see him as a father. From what I gathered from the situation, she ran away from him and that led to her being found in that abandoned house by Storm."

Storm thought about this, yes he was upset about the news, but it wasn't as bad as when he found that his friend was dead. Then he remembered that dark spot where her heart was, and that he commented that it might have been a scar that wouldn't heal. "Do you think that was why she had that dark spot?" Storm asked. "Because she was Nega's step daughter?"

Blade shrugged. "Maybe, we won't know now."

Shadow looked at Pace; his fists were clenched and his eyes shut tight with his face making him look like he was in pain.

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Shadow asked.

"Not until we find an antidote." Blossom said, dabbing a cool cloth on Pace's forehead to wipe away the sweat.

Then Storm snapped his fingers. "Kyra always kept her notes on herbs in STEPHEN. If we can't find an antidote, we can at least find something to cool him off and comfortable.

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything." Skye said, immediately looked up the file.

Kyra awoke much later, her head still ached, but it wasn't spinning and the ringing in her ears had finally stopped. Without opening her eyes, she tried to figure out where she was; Storm had taught her this trick a while ago.

From the softness under her and the warmth that washed over her, she discovered she was in a bed. She listened to people walking around outside her room on a wood floor, so she was in a house and not captured by Nega. By the smell wonderful smell of maple syrup and waffles, she guessed it was either morning or evening, the chirp of a cricket outside confirmed that it was evening.

Finally deciding to open her eyes, she found she was in a small house that was rather comfortable and cozy. She felt her head and realized it was bandaged. She looked around and saw a figure slumped in a comfortable looking rocking chair with a baseball cap over his eyes. He was certainly mobian by the look of his light grey fur and gloved hands. His chin rested on his chest with arms crossed and his legs crossed at the ankles. As Kyra looked at him, she realized he was sleeping and snoring quit loudly. By his light coloring, and her poor eyesight at the moment, Kyra thought at first it was Storm.

"Storm?" She asked, her voice sounding dry and hoarse.

The figure snorted and flinched into a sitting position. Kyra almost giggled as he felt forward with his hands before taking off his cap and looked at her. She now saw this wasn't Storm. He looked like a half-breed between a hedgehog and an echidna. Some of his smaller spines stuck out in places but the thicker ones lay down. His quills His face looked like a hedgehog and he was as short as one, but he had a determined look on his face and very strong looking arms.

"Um…" He said, his voice holding the Echidnian tone. "No… My name's Trent. My friend and I found you in the ruble of Nega's base. Looks like those Redemption Rebels finally got him good."

"Nega's gone?" Kyra asked.

Trent shook his head. "No dice there, but the Redemption Rebels sure got him good, it'll be a while before he tries anything else." Trent replied as he stretched and yawned.

Trent got up and went to the door. "Yo, Seth and Grandpa! Our guest's awake!"

"Coming Trent!" Came a voice that Kyra didn't recognize as mobian.

Trent came back into the room and gave Kyra a crooked smile, reminding Kyra of Pace. "So, what's your name?" He asked.

"Kyra." Kyra answered.

"And who's this Storm you keep talking about?" Trent asked. "Along with Blade, and Pace and this Shadow person."

Kyra's eye widened. "How did you know about them?"

"I have an ability to read minds." Trent answered as if it wasn't a big deal.

Kyra looked Trent with wide eyes. Trent held a serious look for a moment longer until he couldn't hold it. He cracked a smile and started laughing.

"Got ya," He chuckled. "You were talking in your sleep. You talked about a Pace, a Blade and a Shadow. You said something about a plan, but you mostly talked about a guy named Storm and that you were sorry for something."

"Storm is my closest friend." Kyra explained. Then she told her story; from how she met Storm and the Redemption Rebels to their plan for taking out the Roboticiser. She told about her plan for distraction while the rest of her team got away.

"Last thing I know is the base blowing up, so I think my friends are safe." Kyra concluded. "I can only imagine how Storm is holding up."

Then she noticed that two more people were standing by her bed. They were people she never expected. They were humans like her; an older man with a clean-shaven chin and white hair with gentle brown eyes and he leaned against a roughly made cane. The other was maybe a year older than her and a little taller. He had green eyes with light brown hair. His face reminded her of Pace's.

Kyra had never seen another human, other than her mother, father and Nega. She knew that there were humans in Mobius, but they were rare. She thought she was the only one that wasn't in hiding and fighting against Nega.

"Hey," Said the younger human. "My name is Seth, and this is my grandfather Jack."

"You are very lucky the boys found you, young lady." Jack said. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want."

"Thank you." Kyra answered shyly.

She started moving to sit up, but Seth beat her too it, helping her sit up and holding a glass of water for her. She didn't take the water at first, but looked down to where her feet were.

"Why won't my legs move?" She asked, fearing the answer.

"Not to worry, my dear." Jack said, coming forward to sit on the bed. "Your legs are simply temporarily paralyzed. It will take time, but you will heal after a short while."

"Paralyzed!" Kyra asked, nearly shouting. "Look, I thank you all for your hospitality, but I have to get back to New Knothole, my friend may be thinking that I'm dead."

Trent whistled. "Boy, could you imagine the look on their faces when you show up perfectly fine after they had your funeral?"

Kyra lowered her eyes. She couldn't stand the thought of being away from Storm for longer than necessary. She knew he was in good hands, but knowing that he thought she was dead, and after loosing Eli so recently, she couldn't imagine what he was going through.

Seth saw this and sat down on the bed next to her. "It'll be alright," He told her. "It will only be for a few days, until you get your strength back. After that Trent and I could escort you to New Knothole. Oh wait, I forgot. New Knothole's position is supposed to be kept a secret, that way Nega can never find it."

Kyra thought about this, then looked at Seth and Trent. "If you guys want to stay in New Knothole, and be searched for bugs when we enter, I suppose you could take me."

"What about my grandfather?" Seth asked. "He's the only family I have left."

"Once we get to Knothole, I have a friend who can get here and pick up your grandfather." Kyra answered.

"Pace?" Trent asked.

"No, Shadow." Kyra corrected. "He can come here and get your grandfather in a flash… literally."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Jack said. "Now, I'm sure you're hungry. Taking out an entire base can take a lot out of a girl."

Kyra smiled as Jack helped her get up out of the bed. Her legs refused to obey her, no matter how hard she tried. Seth and Trent made something like a chair with their arms while Jack helped her to them and sit on their arms.

As they carried her to the kitchen, Kyra could only think about Storm. 'I hope he and the others can forgive me.' She thought sadly, thinking how Storm would have taken the news.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11: A Surprising Discovery

For the next few days, Storm didn't talk much. Platinum didn't blame him; she knew loosing someone close was hard. She sat in front of the Master Emerald as she usually did when she needed to think. She was the first female guardian of the Master Emerald, and this was only because she was a direct descendant of Knuckles the Echidna. The stories that heard of him made it hard to believe that she was his descendant; for example, she was calm and collected, taking in a situation in stride. Knuckles on the other hand was a hot head and overreacting to a situation instead of thinking it through.

Platinum also thought about Pace. Skye and Blossom had managed to bring his fever down a little with the help of the herbs, but he seemed to be getting worse; His breathing was starting to sound raspy and he was shivering constantly. She worried about him the most; Pace was the one who started the Redemption Rebels after Nega took over. Since then they've been slowly regaining grown from Nega, but this was their first casualty.

Loosing Kyra was maybe the biggest blow to them, both as a friend and an aid; Kyra had befriended everyone in New Knothole, even Blade who hardly ever talked before she came along. She also showed Blossom some herbal remedies for helping people get over simple illnesses quicker. Kyra also seemed to be sensitive to chaos emeralds for some reason; a reason she told no one.

Platinum leaned back on a pillar and looked up at the stars. She thought of the time Storm first brought Kyra to New Knothole; She was very shy and didn't talk much….

("Relax, Kyra," Storm said to his friend as he opened the secret door leading to Knothole. "The Redemption Rebels are good people."

Kyra stayed behind Storm, she could feel her fear clawing at her spine. "I'll trust you, Storm," She replied. "But I'm still nervous."

"You'll be fine," Storm said taking her by the hand and leading her through the doorway.)

Platinum closed her eyes to see the memory better and chuckled at what she saw….

("Welcome back, Storm," Pace said walking up to Storm and Kyra with a cocky smile. "What brings you here?"

"I came to see if Skye finished fixing STEPHEN for me." Storm answered. "But I also want to introduce you to my friend, Kyra. Kyra, this is our Field Mission Leader and Fastest Thing Alive."

"Hey," Pace said and offered a hand to Kyra.

She hesitated at first, looking nervously at the extended hand. Pace took this chance to get a good look at her since he had never seen a real human other than Nega, let alone a human girl his age. She had auburn hair and brown hair. Her skin was a tan, but pail scars criss-crossed her arms. She was a head taller than himself and Storm, but then again most humans where taller than original Mobians.

She seemed to gather courage before taking Pace's hand in a surprisingly firm grip. "Pleasure, Mr. Pace."

Pace chuckled. "Its just Pace." He told her before turning back to Storm. "Skye finishing him up in the shop. I think everyone else is there too, I'll introduce you to the A-Team."

"A-Team?" Kyra asked, starting to get curious.

"The Redemption Rebels top fighters." Storm explained.)

Platinum sighed and opened her eyes. Blade was the only one who didn't like her at first. He suspected that she was a spy or something, but after a year with her part of the team, and Storm insisting that her aura was clean, she and Blade soon became friends.

Topaz looked down the temple steps at New Knothole. They had decided to put New Knothole on Angel Island since Angel Island can be moved easily. It keeps the emeralds safe and the Redemption Rebels.

'If only Kyra could be around.' Platinum thought as she again turned her gaze to the stars. 'She usually came to hang out up here with Storm and me and try to find constellations.'

Suddenly, there was a bright green behind her, making her muscles twitch and her spine tighten slightly. Platinum turned to see the Master Emerald glowing brighter than it should. She walked up to it and placed a hand on it, but the chaos level was so high she had to pull it away. She looked at the Emerald as an image began to form. There where four beings; three humans, two male and one female, and there was a male Mobian who Platinum couldn't tell if he was an echidna or a hedgehog. The younger of the male human's was helping the female get out of a bed; she seemed to be having trouble with her legs. Suddenly, the female fell back to the bed, a frustrated look on her face as she looked up at the young male. Platinum gasped as she realized it was Kyra.

"You alright, Patty?" Asked Topaz as she lighted near the alter next to her friend. She came to see if the echidna was alright, she never did very well when disaster struck.

Platinum looked at Topaz, then back at the Master Emerald her breath coming quick and in huffs. The image was gone and the Emerald wasn't glowing as harshly now. Platinum began to tremble, was that really Kyra she saw? Was she really alive and well but injured? Or was she imagining things?

"Patty?" Topaz asked. "What is it?"

"Truthfully, Topaz," Platinum answered. "I'm not sure,"

"Patty, hon," Topaz said in a sassy, Los-Vegas-Show-Girl fashion. "You're on the edge of shock, lets get you down to the infirmary so Blossom can get a look at you."

Platinum allowed Topaz to lead her away from the Master Emerald, but she wasn't sure if she should tell or not.

'I think I should keep it quiet for a while,' She thought. 'I don't want to raise any false hopes… Storm has been through enough already, I don't dare cause him more pain than necessary.'


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12: Getting Back Up

"Come on, Kyra," Trent encouraged as Kyra struggled to stand, leaning against Seth for balance.

Today was Friday. It had been a few days since Seth and Trent found Kyra in the rubble. She had been bed-ridden since she came here; she was more than glad that the boys were letting her at least try to stand.

She gritted her teeth as she pulled herself up on her shaky legs. They hurt terribly, but it was better than not feeling them at all.

"You almost have it." Trent said, watching Kyra slowly stand. He had never seen a human heal so quickly; this made him wonder who she really was and where she really came from. "You got it…. You got it..."

"Ah!" Kyra exclaimed as a stab of pain shot through her legs, making her fall back to the bed.

"You don't got it," Trent said, sounding disappointed.

Kyra sighed, at this rate she was never going to get back to New Knothole. Seth sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry," Seth said. "You're healing faster than what most humans do, if we keep this up you'll be running by Monday."

"Thanks Seth," Kyra said looking up at Seth and offering a small smile.

"Seth's right," Trent said, flopping down on the other side of Kyra. "Unlike a lot of Mobians, I grew up around humans, and you are first human I've met that can heal this fast."

His comment, and the way he said it, made Kyra chuckle. "Thanks, Trent."

Jack watched the three talk. He found it pleasing that there was now a human friend for his grandchild. He had nothing against the Mobians, but he knew Seth needed more human company.

"Tell you what, Kyra," Jack said. "If Seth or Trent can carry you, you are well enough to come out to the front room and enjoy a card game with us."

"That's right!" Trent said. "Tonight we're having that Uno Challenge."

"What's Uno?" Kyra asked.

The three boys looked at each other then back at Kyra. "Now you have to come out and play, it's the best card game to play." Trent said.

Seth leaned close to Kyra's ear. "Say's the guy who only learned about the game three weeks ago." He whispered, making Kyra suppress a chuckle.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Trent asked, giving Seth and Kyra a puzzled look.

"Oh, nothing." Seth and Kyra answered in perfect unison.

The two looked at each other and pointed. "JINKS!" they shouted again in unison.

"Okay," Trent said getting up. "That's freaky!"

"Would you like to, Kyra?" Jack asked, quite amused by the Jinks contest.

"It's better than just hanging out in here." Kyra answered.

"Sounds like a yes to me," Seth said standing.

He gently scooped Kyra up in his arms and carried out to the front room and set her on the couch. On the coffee table was a pile of cards with the word "Uno" on the back of them. Trent and Seth got soda's and pop corn while Jack gave Kyra a crash course on how to play. For the next two hours, they played the card game with lots of laughs. Kyra caught onto the concept of the game fairly quickly and won almost all five rounds, to Trent's annoyance. The last round was a showdown between Trent and Kyra. To Trent's delight, he had won and earned the title, Uno Champ.

"I've got to show my team this game." Kyra said when the game was over.

"We could bring the game along." Seth said. "I think Storm will have trouble with it though."

He and I can pair up." Kyra said. "That's how we usually went on in life. I was usually his eyes when his abilities weren't much use."

Trent looked up at her from this statement. "What kind of abilities?"

"He can use electricity." Kyra explained. "He uses this ability to see people in auras of light and color. He knows if a person is good hearted or is bad by the color, warmer colors for good people and colder colors for bad. And he uses the shade of the color to know what mood you're in or how you feel."

"Huh," Trent replied before yawning. "That's interesting."

Jack chuckled. "I think it's time for us to go to sleep," He said. "It's late, and we all need rest."

Seth yawned. "I agree," he said. "Need me to carry you, Kyra?"

"Let me try standing again," She said.

Seth nodded and offered her his hand. Kyra took it and started pulling herself up. Trent walked to her other side and also helped her up. She gritted her teeth in effort, but her legs didn't hurt as bad this time.

"You're almost there," Seth said.

Soon, Kyra was standing. "Yes!" She said in triumph, punching the air and trying to take a step forward. Instead of going forward, she lost her balance and would have fallen if Seth weren't there to keep her upright.

"Whoa there, Kyra." Seth said with a chuckle. "Slow down there, one step at a time. We'll start walking tomorrow."

Kyra gave Seth a mock scowl. "Party pooper."

Seth laughed as he picked her up again bridal style and carried her back to her room. He set her down on the bed with Trent close behind him.

"Thanks guys," Kyra said. "For letting me stay."

"No problem," Trent said. "It's our pleasure."

Kyra smiled. Those were the same words Storm said after her first week staying with him and Eli.

"Well, Good night," Seth said as he and Trent walked out.

"Night, boys." Kyra replied as she snuggled into her covers and fell asleep, silently dreaming about what would happen when she got back to New Knothole.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Hard Road Home

Another week had past. Kyra was moving around better; she was now able to get up and walk on her own, and even run lightly. She and Seth had gotten close through the weeks, this warmed Trent's heart. It was nice to see his old friend get along with someone in his species. Seth and his grandfather had rescued Trent from some of Nega's robots a few years ago. Seth and Trent had gotten along very well together since then, becoming best friends since Seth didn't have any other humans his age to hang out with.

It was clear Kyra was itching to go back to New Knothole. She was often caught looking out the window. She never liked leaving the floating island where New Knothole was located, and she knew Platinum moved the island every month or so to make sure that the Redemption Rebels and the Emeralds were kept safe.

One day, she brought it up. "I need to go back to New Knothole." She explained. "I have a feeling that I'm needed there."

"What do you say, grandpa?" Seth asked.

"Well," Jack said. "She is walking on her own now, and her strength has returned. I think she's ready."

"Awesome!" Trent said going back to his room. "I'll get my stuff ready and we'll be ready to go."

Seth laughed. "He's wanted to be a Redemption Rebel for as long as I've known him." He explained.

"You may have to hold him back most of the way," Kyra answered. "I have a feeling he'll be ahead of us most of the way."

Shadow was very quiet the next few weeks after destroying the base. Pace was steadily getting worse; his fever had returned, he was in a cold sweat and was mumbling in his sleep. Shadow worried about Pace, he was a fighter that's for sure, but how long could he last? Shadow was watching Pace when Blade entered the infirmary. At the sight of Shadow, Blade tensed slightly but remained expressionless.

"I came to relieve you so you could get some rest, Shadow." Blade said. "You do realize that you've been up half the night, right?"

Shadow looked at the time. He had been at his post since ten last night, the clock now read two AM."

"I'll watch him." Blade offered. "You rest up for your next shift."

"I'll go in a minute." Shadow replied. "Right now I have questions that need answers. I was going to ask Storm, but after him loosing Eli and Kyra, I didn't want to cause him more heartache. You seem to have nothing else to do so I'll ask you."

Blade tensed. He didn't trust Shadow, but he trusted Storms ability to know someone's personality. Eventually Blade nodded and took a seat.

"First off," Shadow looking at Blade squarely in the face. "Kyra and Storm found me in suspended animation at an army base. Why was the base abandoned and along with me?"

Blade leaned back. He was never big on history, but the story of the Ultimate Life Form (or ULF as every one called it now) interested him. "I think the only way I can answer that question is with the history I know about the subject. Over 200 years ago, there was an ULF that fought along side of Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, many of our ancestors. Once day, the humans thought that the ULF was too dangerous to keep around since he had a tendency to switch sides, the last straw was when an army of aliens attacked and the ULF fought along side them."

Shadow cringed; he remembered that battle. It nearly took his life when he defeated the Black Arms.

"The humans couldn't kill the ULF, so they locked him away and erased almost all evidence of his existence. A few years ago, Nega came along and started to wreak havoc. The human army wanted to be sure that the ULF didn't fall into the wrong hands, so they took what files they could, said that the base was leaking radioactive gas, and left it. Nega pursued them, thinking they had the ULF. Nega attacked them for years for the ULF, but never found it. Now Humans are almost as rare as the echidnas. A decade later, Kyra caught wind of the ULF still in that base thanks to her computer STEPHEN. She wanted to see the ULF for herself and took Storm with her. That's how they found you, how Nega came to power, and how you were abandoned in that base."

Shadow listened to the story with interest. He wasn't sure about being called an ULF, but we was glad to be among the living again.

"Dose that answer the questions you have?" Blade asked.

"Almost." Shadow answered. "How is it that you know me?"

Blade gave him an odd look, but Shadow saw that he was shocked at the question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Shadow said. "When I first came here, when I met you in that bed, you looked at me like you knew me instantly."

Blade looked around, as if uncomfortable about the answer. He looked back at Shadow. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. I feel like I know you somehow, but I'm not sure how."

Shadow was about to ask more, but then Pace twitched and mumbled something. Both Shadow and Blade looked at him, but he remained in his half-asleep state.

"Thank you, Blade." Shadow said standing. "If anything happens, let me know."

"Sure thing, Shadow." Blade answered as he started his shift.

Shadow walked back to his new hut. It surprised him how quickly a new hut could be made. He walked in and lay down in his bed, falling asleep almost immediately. He was rudely awakened by the sound of tapping. Shadow looked at the time, the clock read 3:30 AM. Shadow got up and looked out his window. Storm was standing by the gravestones the Redemption Rebels had set up for their two fallen friends. Storm was standing in front of Kyra's Stone. Shadow sighed and walked out to stand next to Storm.

Shadow silently read the engraving on the stone; Platinum had carved it herself.

In Memory Of Kyra  
Companion, Fighter, and Friend to All.  
She sacrificed herself for her friends during a mission.  
Her team will greatly miss her.

Shadow and the Redemption Rebels had their funerals last weekend. Shadow had never been to a funeral, it was sadder than he thought.

He looked at Storm, who was sniffing back tears. "I can't believe they're gone." Storm said quietly.

Shadow put an arm around Storm to comfort the kid. He felt like it was now his place to watch over Storm as Eli might have and be as close to a friend as he could as Kyra was. This kid needed someone to watch over him.

"Come on," Shadow said, making his voice as gentle as he could. "You can sleep on my couch if you want."

Shadow led Storm away from the graves. Storm leaned against Shadow as the dark hedgehog led him away. "Thanks Shadow."

"Would you guys hurry up?" Trent asked as he walked ahead. He had stopped on top of a very large boulder and looked back at Seth and Kyra, who were trailing behind. It was now midday, and Trent could barely contain himself from the excitement he felt.

"How about you wait up!" Seth called back with a laugh.

Kyra laughed. Those were the very words she and Storm said to each other before they found Shadow. She wondered what she was going to say when she got to New Knothole. It had now been two days since they left Seth's home and grandfather. Kyra promised Jack that she would send Shadow to get him when they reached New Knothole.

"You alright beck there?" Seth asked.

Kyra looked up and realized that she had stopped walking. She smiled and nodded. "Just thinking."

"About…" Seth pressed.

"Storm, Shadow and the other Redemption Rebels." Kyra answered. "I'm not sure how to tell them that I'm alive and well."

"You'll figure it out." Trent said. "How far is it?"

Kyra looked up at the horizon. She had to squint, but she saw the forest edge where New Knothole was located. Platinum hadn't moved the island. Kyra smiled despite the distance. "We'll be in those trees by nightfall." She told the boys. "We can rest there and be in New Knothole by morning."

"FINALLY!" Trent exclaimed.

Seth and Kyra laugh as we start walking again. Suddenly, the ground shook. I look behind us and there's an army of Nega's robots. Kyra took a fighting stance and took out a pistol.

"Now what?" Seth asked as he and Trent stood back to back with Kyra.

"The same way my friend Pace dose it." Kyra said, handing Seth a small gun. "Juice em' and reduce em.'" With that she started shoot the nearest robot.

Trent, looked around for the nearest source of water, his parents didn't name him Trent for nothing. He soon discovered the stream near the trail they were following. Trent concentrated, bringing a small stream of water to him through the air and used it as a two ended whip. Seth was a crack shot when it came to guns, but he didn't use them much.

Kyra leaped into the air and shot the robots as she did back at the base, but her reflexes were still slow since her accident. A robot smashed one of his arms into her body, sending her flying to the ground with a grunt.

"KYRA!" Seth shouted, memories of his sister Samantha came flooding back; the robot grabbing her and throwing her through a window, killing her instantly.

Platinum was snoozing in front of the Master Emerald when she was blasted by chaos energy. She looked up at the Master Emerald, shocked to see another scene playing. It was Kyra with the human boy and the Mobian fighting off a number of robots. By the look of the stream in the scene, they were five miles away.

Dizzy from the vision, she ran down the steps of the Temple and to the village, bursting into the command room. Everyone, minus Storm and Pace since Pace was still sick and Storm was looking after him.

"Patty?" Topaz said, gliding over to her friend to hold her upright.

"Kyra…." Platinum said, panting. "She's…. Alive… Five miles…. West… Fighting robots with…. Human and mobian…. I think she's…. hurt."

Shadow immediately stood. "I can get us there with chaos control. I'll need a team to go with me."

"I'll go," Blade said. "Patty is never wrong when it comes to these things."  
"You'll need me," Topaz said.

"And me…" Platinum said, regaining posture.

"I'll go." Skye said.

"I'll stay," Blossom said. "Storm and Pace need someone here to look after them."

"Alright," Shadow said, holding up a chaos emerald. Everyone that was going gathered close to Shadow as he squeezed the emerald. "Chaos Control!" He said, whisking himself and the team away in a flash of gold.

"I can't keep this up for long Seth!" Trent yelled, feeling his control over the ribbon of water beginning to slip.

"Just hang in there for a moment longer, Trent!" Seth yelled back. He was bent over Kyra, she was blinking furiously, but didn't seem to realize that Seth was holding her, trying to get her to wake up.

"Come on, Kyra!" Seth said urgently. "Don't give up. Not when we're so close. Umm… Think of Storm. He's waiting for you in New Knothole, remember?"

"Storm…" Kyra murmured.

"That's right," Seth said, lifting his pistol and shooting another robot that was getting to close. "If you give in now, you can't see Storm. So stay with us, you hear me?"

"Storm…." Kyra whispered, she seemed to be drifting off.

"Kyra, don't you dare!" Seth shouted.

Suddenly there was a flash of gold, revealing about six mobians. They wasted no time in demolishing the robots. It happened so fast that Seth and Trent could only stand by and watch as they leaped, punched and kicked the robots to scrap metal. Trent was happy to release the water he was using to fight with. Within minutes, the robots were no more and the fighters were breathing heavy.

The black one turned and looked at Seth before looking down at Kyra. She was fighting to regain consciousness, but she seemed to recognize what was going on. She looked at the black hedgehog, and her eyes slowly cleared.

"Kyra?" Blade asked, unable to believe his eyes. He had seen her run into the base, and he was the one who pressed the detonation button that would have ended her.

"Blade." Kyra answered, her mind in a blender.

Platinum came forward and touched her face, to make sure this was real. Seeing this, Kyra quickly pinched her arm.

"Ouch!" Platinum shouted before embracing Kyra. "It really you!"

"Of course its me!" Kyra answered, returning the echidna's hug. "You can't get rid of me that easily."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Reunited

Everyone was ecstatic to see Kyra again, that is all but Topaz who kept her distance. Kyra and the others didn't seem to notice.

Kyra quickly introduced Seth and Trent to the Redemption Rebels and explained to Shadow that she had promised Seth's grandfather that he'd go and bring Jack to New Knothole.

"I understand." Shadow said.

"Good thing someone dose." Skye said coming forward and getting a close look at Kyra. "Because I don't. How did you escape that blast?"

"That's what I'm wondering." Blade said walking forward and gripping Kyra by the shoulders. She had forgotten he was almost an inch taller than her. "Pressing that button was the worst thing that I had to do. It scared me to the point where I dream about it. How did you get away?"

"I was acting on instinct." Kyra explained. "When I got far enough away from them, I slipped into a ventilation shaft that went to the basement. The shaft protected me from the blast, but I had a concussion. When I got out of the shaft I landed on something sharp, making me temporarily paralyzed so I couldn't come back. It was then when Seth and Trent found me and took me to their place. It took a while to get my feet back, but as soon as I could walk without tiring easily I asked if I could come back."

"This will make Storm happy," Shadow said. "He has been mourning ever since the base exploded. We had your funeral last week."

"I still can't believe you're here, and alive." Platinum said, tears springing to her eyes.

"I almost can't believe it myself." Kyra said. "Wait, where's Pace, Blossom and Storm?"

"Back at New Knothole." Skye said. "Blossom stayed to watch over Storm and Pace. Storm has no idea what's going on, and Pace…."

Kyra noted Skye's hesitation to continue. "What happened?"

"I'll continue." Shadow said. "In that mission Pace was hit with a poisoned dart. It acts fast at first then slows to weaken the victim, leaving them helpless. Pace had been bedridden for weeks."

"I may be able to help with that." Kyra said. "How long dose he have?"

"I'm not sure, we gave him herbs that would keep the fever down and slow the poisons work." Shadow explained.

"I can help too," Seth said. "I've worked with healing from poisons thanks to my grandfather."

"And my abilities have healing properties." Offered Trent.

"I'll need all the help I can get…" Kyra said. "Including Storms."

"Then lets hurry and get back already." Topaz said sounding annoyed.

"There's one more thing," Kyra said.

"What?" Shadow asked.

Kyra stopped and looked down. "You guys aren't mad at what I am….right?"

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

It took a moment, but Platinum figured it out. "I see. You mean about your stepfather."

Kyra nodded.

"You said you don't accept him as a father right?" Blade asked.

Kyra nodded again.

"Then I for one trust you." Blade said. "You've been trust worthy for as long as I've known you, and Storm knows you're trustworthy."

Kyra looked up again and smiled at them. "Thanks Blade."

They all gathered around Shadow once more as he again lifted his chaos emerald and squeezed it. "Chaos Control!" He said.

They reappeared in New Knothole and Kyra almost immediately started looking for Storm. She had the perfect plan to tell him she was alright.

She found him by the pond, looking over the water. Kyra smiled, the pond was perfect. The two of them loved hanging out there, and the grass was soft and springy making her footsteps silent.

She crept up to him and put her hands over his eyes. He was startled at first, but then relaxed, she knew he loved guessing games.

He chuckled lightly, but his voice sounded sad. "Wow, I wonder who it could be…." He said, almost making Kyra laugh. "I'm guessing…. either Topaz or Platinum."

"Guess again, Flashlight." Kyra whispered in his ear.

His smile drained and his face went from amused to shock faster than Pace cold eat a pizza. Storm removed her hands and spun around to see the aura he though he would never see again. It was a light blue that shone brightly, showing that who owned it was very happy.

"K-Kyra?" He said, his eyes widening with shock and utter amazement.

Kyra laughed. "You bet." She answered putting her hands on her hips.

Storm approached her carefully and placed a hand on her face. He gently traced her features before drawing his hand back as if the touch burned him. He looked ay Kyra some more, tears coming to his eyes and he was shaking his head.

"It's really me, Storm," Kyra said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I had to pinch Platinum for her to believe it."  
Storm shook his head some more before tears started to pour down his cheeks along with Kyra's.

"KYRA!" Storm shouted as he half leaped, half fell into her arms, making her fall over. They hugged each other in the grass, tears streaming down their faces. "Don't do that again!" Storm sobbed. "I lost Eli, I can't loose you too! Please don't that to me!"

"You won't loose me ever." Kyra answered as tears spilled from her eyes and her throat tightened. She embraced Storm as if it was the last time she was ever going to see him. "You have to do better than a few fireworks to get rid of me."

They stayed there for the remainder of the hour, simply enjoying each others' embrace. Storm didn't want to let her go. He prayed this wasn't a dream, that tomorrow Kyra would still be beside him. The two didn't break for another hour, when they had fallen asleep by the pond.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: A Cure

Shadow had to go find Kyra and Storm as the sun started to set. He finally found them by the pond, sleeping in each other's arms. Shadow gazed at the scene for a long while; both of their young face's showing what they felt. Kyra was peaceful, leaning against a tree. Her eyes were closed and she had a small smile on her face. Storm had tearstains on his cheeks, quietly leaning against Kyra and gripping her shirt as if she would vanish again if he loosened his grip.

Shadow sighed and walked up to them. He gripped Kyra's shoulder and shook it gently. "Kyra." He whispered.

She mumbled in her sleep and sighed without waking up.

"Kyra." Shadow said, hardening his voice and shaking her harder.

"Hmm?" She mumbled as her eyes and blinked at Shadow before rubbing her tired eyes. "Oh, hey Shadow." She said sleepily.

"You and Storm are needed in the infirmary." Shadow said, rather darkly.

"Oh, right," Kyra said stretching the kinks out of her back.

The movement woke Storm, who grabbed her shirt a little tighter before realizing what he was doing. He rubbed his blind eyes and looked at both aura's in front of him.

"Hey sleepy head." Kyra said standing. "We're needed in the infirmary. I made some friends that may help us cure Pace."

"Then lets hurry." Storm said standing and taking Kyra's hand. "Pace has been in that bed since Nega's base. He's been steadily getting worse, he has us all worried about him."

Kyra looked at her old friend. The rest of the team had said that Pace hasn't been well, but she didn't know it was this bad. She took a serious tone that both surprised Shadow and Storm. Storm had never heard her talk like this. "What are his symptoms? Walk and talk."

She started walking away, forcing Shadow and Storm to follow.

"He's hot to the touch," Storm said, listing all of Paces symptoms. "He's always in a cold sweat, he mumbles in his sleep, he seems to have bad dreams from the way he's been gripping the blankets, and he constantly shivering."

The list made Kyra walk a little quicker. Shadow wondered what she knew. For the first time, he was suspicious of Kyra. Storm didn't seem fazed; he followed Kyra without the slightest hint of suspicion on his face.

They made it to the infirmary and Kyra stopped in her tracks. Pace looked worse than Storm or the others had described. He was pale, his eyes squeezed shut along with his fists, and he was shivering uncontrollably.

Seth and Trent had already gathered herbs that would help, most of them Kyra knew well. She immediately started helping Seth and Trent mix the herbs into an elixir and poured it into a glass. "Storm, hold his head up, open his mouth and pinch his nose please."

Pinch his nose?" Storm asked.

"It'll keep him from breathing it in." Kyra explained as Storm did as he was asked.  
Carefully, Kyra slowly poured the elixir down Paces throat, stopping after a short while so Pace could breath. After the elixir had all been used, Kyra turned to Trent. "You said your abilities have healing properties?"

Trent nodded. "Yeah, but I never tried it on something this big."

"You have to try, pal." Seth said, putting a hand on Trent's shoulder.

Trent nodded and Kyra removed the blankets from Pace. Pace shivered more as his source or warmth left him. Trent had concentrated on a bowel of water, making the water flow over pace. Pace twitched at first, but soon relaxed his body to the soothing touch of the water. His eyes relaxed and he released his hands uncurled themselves. Soon, the water turned a somewhat murky green. Trent moved the water off of Pace and flowed it back in the bowl it came from. He sighed and sagged into Seth's arms, his eyes blinking.

"You did great Trent." Seth said.

Kyra looked back at Pace, whom for once, was sleeping soundly. She smiled at him, glad that her stepfather's poison would no longer torture him.

Skye took a sample of the poisoned water and placed it in a vile. "I could use this to make an antidote," He said. "Or to make something that would make us immune to it."

"Good idea, but the rest should be buried so it can't hurt anyone else." Kyra said. "Be careful not to touch it with your bare hands, Skye. You may end up like Pace."

"How do you know so much about this poison?" Shadow asked, the question had been nagging him through the entire scenario.

"I'll explain everything after we take care of that water." Kyra said. She covered the bowl so the water wouldn't slosh out, and carried it out to a secluded spot in the village. She dug a fairly deep hole and buried the water, bowl and all a good three to four feet under.

She returned to the Command Building were everyone was waiting, except Seth and Trent. Trent had to rest from using so much of his ability, and Seth offered to watch them. He wasn't about to abandon his friend now and he felt that Kyra needed time with the team.

Kyra was greeted by suspicious looks from half the group; mainly Topaz, Blossom, and Shadow. Kyra lowered her head as she walked in and took a seat.

"What did Nega mean back at the base?" Blade asked. "How is it that you're his stepdaughter?"

Kyra cringed. Storm saw her aura deepen in color to the shade where he would place fear.

"It started when I was nine." Kyra explained:

{Seven years ago}

Kyra held her mother's hand as they walked through a strange new place. Everything was metal; there was no grass, no flowers or anything naturally beautiful like her father had once showed her. Darion. Her father had died only a few years ago, but Kyra was still mourning about him. She and her mother still didn't know what caused his death.

Her mother had been married to a new man, one that Kyra hadn't truly met yet. She disapproved that her mother marry a new person if she loved dad, but Kyra thought it was her mother's way of trying to fill an empty void.

"Ah, Miranda!"

Kyra turned to the blustering voice and saw very hefty man. He looked noble enough, but something told Kyra to not trust him.

Her mother and the man embrace before the man kneels to Kyra's height. "You must be Kyra." He said. "Your mother told me so much about you. I am Dr. Negavine, but you may call me dad."

Kyra backed up away from him, holding her favorite rabbit doll close.  
"Don't worry," Her mother said. "She's just shy. I'm sure she'll grow to like you."

"I never did." Kyra said.

She looked around at her friends, still hoping that she hadn't lost their trust. "He soon convinced my mother that I needed to be stronger for the days to come and offered that I go through some genetic enhancements. My mother refused, saying that I was fine the way I was. Once day she got very ill, just like Pace. Now I know she hadn't died a natural death."

Everyone drew in a breath of shock. Storm looked at his friend, she looked the same way he had found her in that abandoned house; alone, hopeless, lost, and forgotten."

Kyra took a breath and continued her story. "A year after my mothers death, Nega started the genetic enhancing process. It hurt every time, but I bided my time, waiting for a chance to escape. Once day, I had one."

It was late at night when Kyra packed my bags. She had watched the robots' shifts for months and memorized when they switched out. She slipped out of her room and used the ventilation system to get outside. Kyra made it a mile before robots were after her. She ran for the cover of trees and found refuge with a coyote named Cadmus.

After a week of staying with Cadmus, Kyra realized her mistake. When she tried to leave, he tied her up and locked her in the basement.

"You will remain here unless I have need of you." He bellowed, slamming the door behind him.

She was his slave for a month, then one day he never showed up. Kyra couldn't undo the chain that tied her, so she waited. It was a week before she saw the light of day.

"That was the day Storm found me." Kyra said, finishing her story. "He unchained me and took me to Eli's place where I could heal. I was afraid of Mobians then, that's why I didn't speak at first and flinched at every touch. But then I grew to trust Storm, and eventually Eli. Then Storm introduced me to you guys. After he had found me, I didn't want Nega to find me again; so I kept quiet about it, hoping that he would forget about me in time. But, he did."

"That's why you insisted on us going without you," Platinum said. "You knew that building inside and out so you could escape the blast."

Kyra nodded.

"And how you can fight so well," Shadow said, remembering her fluid movements in battle.

"That was the genetic enhancements working." Kyra said.

"And it explains that dark spot in your aura." Storm said almost a whisper.

Kyra nodded. "I tried to hide for almost three years, hoping that I would age enough to where he wouldn't recognize me. No matter what I do, the memories still haunt me."

Storm came close and embraced his friend. She seemed to hide herself in that shell that he and Eli had fought to break away. He looked around the room, and was surprised to see the aura's change. Shadow's deepened in suspicion and compassion. Blade's remained golden as if unfazed by the story. Skye's spring green color took a shade of deep blue with sadness. Platinum's misty white aura had several shades of blues and greens, showing the story made her upset and sick to her stomach. Topaz is what amazed him; Her wispy light purple was stained with reds and blacks… She no longer trusted Kyra.

Suddenly, Seth came in the door with smile on his face. "Guys, Pace is awake."

That set everyone at a stampede toward the infirmary. They found Pace's eyes were half open and he was giving his crooked smile, something Kyra thought she'd never see again.

"Hey," Blossom said coming over to take his temperature. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than a few moments ago when that bot got me." Pace answered, his voice sounding weak and cracked. "How long have I been out?"

"Nearly two weeks, Speedo." Platinum said. "That bot hit you with a poisoned dart, if it wasn't for Kyra, Seth and Trent over there you wouldn't be meeting Sonic himself."

"Two Weeks?" Pace asked in shock. "No wonder my legs feel numb." He moved to get up but Blossom and Platinum (who where closer) pushed him back down to the pillow.

"Whoa there cowboy," Platinum said. "You're not out of the woods yet. Storm how dose he look?"

Storm looked at him for a while with his head cocked to one side. "He still has hints of green in his aura, so he's still not well, but it's not as bad as it was."

Pace looked at Storm. "How bad was I?"

"Your aura turned a yellowish-green after two days." Storm replied. "And had slowly been getting deeper. But now your yellow color is coming back. I still think you should stay in bed though, just until almost all the green is gone."

Pace sank back into his covers and crossed his arms in a pout. Everyone chuckled at him, knowing how he hated to keep still.

"Relax, Pace." Trent said from his bed. "It's not that bad, after a while you'll end up liking it."

Pace looked at the strange creature in the bed next to him before looking at the others in the room. "If I've been out for two weeks, what did I miss? Did we trash the base?"

Kyra looked at Storm and at Shadow before looking back at Pace. "It's quite a story, Pace."

"Looks like I've got all the time in the world right now," Pace said. "So what happened?"

Between everyone, they retold the story about what happened at the base. From Kyra's real name to her coming back to New Knothole with Seth and Trent, and from the Redemption Rebels funeral for their supposedly dead comrade, to their finding Kyra, Seth and Trent fighting Robots and their reunion. Kyra retold her story about being Nega's Stepdaughter and her escape and her being found by Storm. Storm watched as Paces aura adopt different colors as the stories were told; whites when he heard that she was Nega's stepdaughter, brighter yellows when the base blew, blues when he heard Kyra's tale and Blades side of the story when Kyra told him to blow the base while she was inside. In the end, his yellow aura was a mix of almost every color imaginable, making him look like a rainbow.

"Wow," He said when the stories were done. "That's all I can say…. Wow."

"I'm sorry for the deseption guys," Kyra said, her aura turning a deep blue. "Now that Nega knows where I am, he'll hunt down New Knothole harder than before. Perhaps it's best if-"

"Don't go there," Storm said. "You're my friend, no matter what. I don't care if Nega is your stepdad, you're still my friend. Please don't leave again."

"Storm's right," Pace said. "As Redemption Rebels, we're to help people escape from Nega's abuse. And we've already accepted you as a Redemption Rebel, so you're stuck with us."

"And us?" Seth asked, putting an arm around Trent.

"As long as you two are willing to fight against Nega with us," Pace said. "Then you're just as welcome."

"AWESOME!" Trent shouted as he leaped into the air.

Everyone laughed at his reaction. Even Shadow had to crack a small smile. Everyone seemed happy, at least, not Topaz. She disagreed on having Kyra remain here. She was one of Nega's experiments, that meant trouble in Topaz's book.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

It was a miserable sight. As far as the eye could see, there laid nothing but shattered glass, fractured concrete, and twisted metal.

This was the sight that dr. Negavine beheld as he gazed upon his former base. The eccentric scientist sighed. True, he had expected this to happen. As a matter of fact, every time he calculated the scenario, this was always the logical outcome. It didn't, however, bring back all of the years building the place, constantly updating the software of the computer systems and security devices, and building his prototype roboticisor.

"Oh, well." he muttered to himself. "I am but a slave to necessity. It had to happen."

"So you wanted them to blow up your base, and make you look like a total idiot.

The doctor turned around to see the mobian equivalent of a wolverine. The creature stood at an average height for a mobian with a hefty build. He was outfitted with a black trench coat that accentuated his gray and white pelt, white gloves, and, were he to show you his back, a long, curved saber strapped over his shoulder. His profile expressed a stern, yet fierce personality with his canine teeth overlapping his lower lip.

"Savage the wolverine," acknowledged Dr. Negavine. "How nice of you to arrive."

Savage's face developed a cruel smile. "You know me, Doc. When money is involved, I'm there like fleas on a dog."

"Speeking of which." said the doctor. "If memory serves me, you and Cadmus failed to detain my stepdaughter. I'll be expecting a refund for said failure."

"You know my policy, Doctor!" Savage snarled with vice. "I give refunds to no one! Especially snivellinh, selfish, and cowardly lifeforms like you humans! Never!"

Dr. Negavine recoiled at the mobian's statement; he wasn't used to being spoken to in such a manner.

A few minutes of silence passed, then Savage finally composed himself.

"As for Cadmus," he said. "I've seen to it that he will never bungle our missions again. Permanately." As he said the final word, Savage curled the fingers on his fists, the joints in the knuckles popping eerily.

"I see " said the doctor, completely repulsed. "You certainly live up to your namesake."  
He straighted back up. "Now to begin Phase 2."

Savage stared at the man curiously. Begavine proceeded to remove from his vest a small, remote control device with of buttons on its surface, one of which he pressed. This was followed by a sudden rumbling as the earth beneath the firmer base began to open. From within the ground arose a massive, oval-shaped machine emblemized with the face of a man sporting a greatly exagerated mustache.

"Behold!" exclaimed Dr. Negavine with his arms outstreched. "The absolute pinacle of my scientific genius: the Death Egg Mark 2!"

Savage's eyes grew wide with surprise. He had heard takes in his youth of the original machine. During the years if Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik had created this very machine in the hopes of taking over the world. Despite Robotnik's defeat, to this fmday the very mentioning of the mechanical monster was enough to send a mobian into a state of shock.

"Impressed?" asked the doctor. "Not very original, but, seeing as how nostolgia was the theme of the week, I couldn't resist."

"Unbelievable." was all Savage was able to say.

"But, wait." continued Negavine rather giddily. "There's more." He pressed another button on his remote. The dome top of the Death Egg split open, then something long and metallic came firing out.

"What in the name of the Ancient Walkers was that?" questioned Savage.

"A reconnaissance satellite." explained Negavine. "You see, all was planned out. Phase 1: recapture Kyra to reengage the tracking device in her body, then release her to install a false sense of security. Phase 2: activate the Death Egg and laugh my satellite. Phase 3:..."

"Phase3: send the world's greatest mercenary tracker to capture a little girl." Savage cut in.

"Exactly."

"Buh-bye."

"What?!" Dr. Negavine turned just in time to see Savage walking away.

"Where do you think your going?" he said, rushing after him.

Savage's stride never lost stride. "It ain't worth it. No combat, no challenge, no point."

Dr. Negavine began to sweat. Savage was the key piece to his plan. Were he not to take this job, it would all be for nothing. Fortunately, a thought came to the doctor's mind.

"Did I forget to mention that Blade protects her?" he called out.

Savage immediately froze in his tracks, his left foot literally in mid-step.  
Dr. Negavine grinned ear to ear. He had regained the mercenary's attention.

"That's right." he said, placing a hand on the wolverine's shoulder. "Your so-called friend has allied himself with the very creatures you despise. What do you think about that?"

Savage turned to face the scientist. His eye were now aglow with absolute rage.

"You say the girl has a tracking device?"

The grin was still spread across Dr. Negavine's face As he reached into his pocket, retrieved the tracking device receiver, then handed it to Savage. Savage merely took the device, then was gone without another word.

However, unbeknownst to both the scientist and the mercenary, an elderly pair of eyes had witnessed the whole scene.

"Mm-mm." muttered the figure. "I'd best keep an eye on those wippersnappets. Sure as the world, the storm gonna make is gonna be a big one."


	17. Chapter 17

A Promise

That night, all had quieted down for the redemption rebels. After a grand party celebrating Kyra's return, as well as the arrival of Seth, Trent, and Grandpa Jack, everyone had retired to their respective huts for a good night's rest. Everyone, that is, except for Kyra herself.  
The young girl had found it difficult to drift asleep, eventually traversing to the roof if her hut to clear her head. As one could imagine, she had much on her mind.

Though she was happy to be home after the nightmare she had endured at Nega's base, it didn't take away one small fact: her secret had been revealed. She knewfor a fact that Storm could overlook it thanks to his aura sight. Shadow and Pace weren't going to hold against her, either. But what of the others? What if they began to lose faith in her?

It was already obvious that Topaz felt this way. She hadn't said anything, but Kyra could see it her eyes. The bat no longer had any trust towards her.

The sudden sound if someone's approach directed Kyra's attention away from her thoughts. She turned to see Seth as he scrambled onto the roof of her hut.

"Hiya." he waved in greeting. "Couldn't sleep?"

Kyra nodded, then moved over to allow the boy to sit next to her. For the next couple of minutes, the two humans merely sat while staring up at the starlit sky.

Finally, Seth spoke. "Something you wanna talk about?"

Kyra tossed him a glance, then looked down at her hands. "Its nothing you would understand."

"Maybe not." said Seth. "But like my grandpa always says, 'the road to healing always starts with an open ear'."

Kyra thought that probably wouldn't hurt for her to talk about it. At least, not as much as it did to hold it up inside.

"I guess you could say I was thinking about my past." she finally said. "I've kept it a secret for so long. Now that they know, I'm scared of what they may think of me."

"About you being Nega's stepdaughter?"

"Yeah."

Seth leaned back, using his arms to hold himself up.

"I don't think you should worry about it." he said. "I mean, its not like you had a choice in the matter anyway."

Kyra shook her head. "Maybe so, but what if I lose the other's trust? I've kept it a secret for so long, what if they think I'm some sort of spy or something?"

"Well, are you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Kyra sighed. "But then there's Nega himself." She sniffled slightly as tears began to form in her eyes. "He knows I'm alive, I just know it. And after what he did to my mom, and what he almost did to Pace, were he to find us, I don't know what..."

Her voice fell as she tried to regain control of her emotions. Seth straightened up, then placed a hand on Kyra's shoulder.

"Hey, just relax." he said soothingly. "Everything is gonna turn out fine. Even if Nega does show his ugly mug, we'll be ready for him. You'll see."

Kyra turned again to face Seth, her tear stained eyes reflecting the full moon's rays. Suddenly, she fell forward onto Seth's shoulder, the tears flowing like a river.

Seth felt a little awkward at this sudden turn of events. This was the first time Seth had ever been with a girl of his own species, and, though his gramps had always taught him to treat a girl with absolute respect,he wasn't completely sure how to handle this situation.

Reluctantly, he wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her friendly embrace. "Its alright." he cooed, stroking her hair softly. "Just let it all out. Hold nothing back."

She didn't. For the next hour, Kyra sobbed as the pains of her past bubbled to the surface. Finally, Lyra's body went limp as the sorrow departed, and sleep took its place.

Seth continued to hold her, unwilling to let that sleeping girl awken. He looked down at her and frowned. Only until now did he truly understand how hurt the girl had been. Just the thought of the things Nega had to have done to her was enough to make his blood boil.

"I won't let him hurt you again." he silently promised. "As long as I draw breathe, I will protect you."


End file.
